Berckheyde was a leading exponent of townscape painting. He often painted contrasting views, like this and its pair of the Groote Kerk at Haarlem, displayed nearby.
The Town Hall in Amsterdam was completed in 1665. Berckheyde was quick to identify a market for depictions of what some contemporaries proudly called the ‘eighth wonder of the world’. He painted dozens of views of the Hall, acquiring a new clientele outside his native Haarlem.
Berckheyde died tragically from drowning in the Brouwersvaart (Brewer’s canal) on his way home from a cabaret.
Bequeathed; 1816; fitzwilliam, richard, 7th viscount
1674
Oil on panel
40.2 x 32.7cm
Images and text © Fitzwilliam Museum, University of Cambridge, 2017
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Berckheyde - The Groote Kerk at Haarlem
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